Chelsea ready to improve bid for South American starlet after more excellent feedback from scouts
The 17-year-old was in action in Brazil on Wednesday night.
Chelsea scouts and officials had a keen eye on Wednesday night’s Copa Libertadores clash between Palmeiras and Independiente del Valle.
Kendry Paez, who has agreed to move to Stamford Bridge following his 18th birthday next summer, played the full 90 minutes for the Ecuadorian side.
But Chelsea eyes were also on 17-year-old Brazilian winger Estevao Willian, who impressed in a 70-minute outing for Palmeiras.
Palmeiras won the game 2-1 to secure first place in Group F.
Chelsea are keen for Estevao to join Paez in London next summer.
Indeed, as reported by Fabrizio Romano via X.com on Thursday morning, Chelsea have already agreed personal terms with Estevao.
At present, there is no agreement between Chelsea and Palmeiras.
However, according to Romano, Chelsea are poised to return to the negotiating table.
Romano tweeted: “Chelsea have been following closely Estevao Willian also last night with excellent feedback once again.
“Estevao, shining vs future Chelsea gem Kendry Paez.
“Chelsea are prepared to improve their bid and advance with Palmeiras after personal terms agreed.”
After making his professional debut for Palmeiras in December last year, Estevao currently has 21 first-team appearances and seven goals to his name.
Estevao is not the only player currently on Chelsea’s radar.
In his exclusive column on Wednesday morning, Romano revealed that the Blues are also monitoring the race to sign Fulham defender Tosin Adarabioyo on a free transfer.
Romano wrote: “Tosin Adarabioyo has decided to leave Fulham as a free agent this summer, and so there’s unsurprisingly a lot of interest and a lot of media speculation about where he could go next.
“Still, my understanding remains that Newcastle remain frontrunners, they are in advanced talks to sign Adarabioyo this summer, and they’re also chasing another defender in Bournemouth’s Lloyd Kelly. Newcastle want both players and are progressing well with these deals - they are optimistic about making it happen early in the summer.
“Chelsea and Man United are also informed on conditions of the Adarabioyo deal but at the moment, there is still no substantial change in the race to sign the centre-back; until he signs the contract, it’s still open, so let’s see what happens and if there are any surprises, but for the moment Newcastle are leading the race and their interest is the most advanced.
“One more point on Chelsea - despite some talk about them being open to selling both left-backs Marc Cucurella and Ben Chilwell this summer, there are no negotiations or talks for either Cucurella or Chilwell at this point. Chelsea are not negotiating for them, and also Cucurella is doing very well so at the moment the situation is still quiet.”